Case Number 04609

DEATH IN VENICE

The Charge

The celebrated story of a man obsessed with an ideal beauty.

Opening Statement

After filming such challenging personal epics as Rocco and His
Brothers, The Leopard, and The Damned, renowned Italian
director Luchino Visconti decided to take on a major challenge: to film the
unfilmable Thomas Mann novel Death in Venice. Warner Bros. agreed to help
finance the project, especially after The Damned made money.

The final product was released in 1971 to mixed reviews and box office,
despite winning a special prize at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival. Thirty-two
years later, Warner Bros. has revisited the film for DVD.

Facts of the Case

Count Gustav von Aschenbach (Dirk Bogarde, The Damned, Darling)
travels to Venice for a holiday. After settling in his hotel, the Lido, he
notices Tadzio, a handsome Polish "boy" visiting Venice with his
family. The very sight of the boy stirs strange feelings within Aschenbach,
feelings he may not have had before.

The Evidence

Reading the above synopsis may lead you to believe that Death in
Venice is a very vague film. It is vague only in terms of predictable plot,
however. The greatness of Luchino Visconti's masterpiece lies in the
characterizations rather than what happens. Visconti based his screenplay on the
novel by Thomas Mann, which was quite different, more complicated and ambiguous
about feelings and Aschenbach's actual intent toward Tadzio. Visconti made
several changes for the adaptation, namely changing Aschenbach's occupation
(writer in the novel, composer in the film) and isolating the homosexual
attraction between Aschenbach and Tadzio. Some critics have complained about
this, but I think they miss the point. This is Visconti's Death in
Venice, his interpretation of a difficult, maddening novel that is open to
dozens of different readings. I wouldn't have it any other way.

The trademark of a Visconti film is the beautiful photography, and Death
in Venice is no exception, grandly filmed in Panavision and Technicolor in
loving fashion. Visconti makes Venice a character in its own right. Many will
complain about the slow pace of the film, but I think the pace is ideal; it
allows us to take in the visual beauty as well as letting the emotional weight
of Mann's story sink into our psyche.

The acting is flawless. The late Dirk Bogarde was renowned for an ambiguous
quality in his performances: You never know quite what to expect whenever he
appears, and that's as it should be. A good actor will never give the same
performance twice. His Aschenbach displays great passion and feeling at all
times in the film. In the hands of a lesser actor, the performance wouldn't have
worked; the character would have been loaded with hammy gestures and gimmicks.
Instead, Bogarde, like the pro he is, adds enough ambiguity and sincerity to
make it work. Bjorn Andersen is also superb as Tadzio. Visconti could have gone
only for looks in casting this character, but in Andersen Visconti has found
someone who can hold his own on the screen with Bogarde. He doesn't speak much
dialogue, but Visconti wisely realizes that a look can say more than any amount
of words. And it would be criminal of me to not mention Silvana Margano in the
small role of Tadzio's mother: She is effective in every scene she appears
in.

For years, Death in Venice was available in horrific pan-and-scan VHS
tapes that only butchered Visconti's hard work. A widescreen laserdisc was
briefly available but was quickly pulled out of print. Other than the occasional
airing on Turner Classic Movies (July 2000 was the last time I saw it), a
widescreen version of the film has been hard to locate.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Warner Bros. has rectified the problem with the first-ever DVD release of
Death in Venice: This 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer replicates
the original Panavision photography. Unfortunately, the image is far too grainy
for my taste. I realize the photography is supposed to look soft. However, it
shouldn't look this soft. Colors are very muted and bland, and contrast
with blacks and grays is poor. I'm grateful to finally own this film in
widescreen, but I wish Warner Bros. had taken greater care with the
transfer.

Audio is a disappointing Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track. Visconti fills the
soundtrack with magnificent Gustav Mahler compositions, and although the mono
track sounds good, a stereo track would have been even more powerful and
stunning.

The sole extras are the original theatrical trailer (in 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen) and a vintage featurette, "Visconti's Venice." The
featurette is interesting, but not as insightful as I would have liked.

Closing Statement

Death in Venice is a masterpiece, among the very best of Visconti's
work. A chance to own this film in anamorphic widescreen more than makes up for
the shortcomings of the transfer -- plus the $19.99 retail price is a bargain,
especially when you consider that the inferior VHS copies often sell for
$29.99.

The Verdict

This case is dismissed for now, although I sentence Warner Bros. to start
taking greater care with their catalog items.